Garment



J. F. WHITE Oct. 25, 1938.

GARMENT Filed OCT.. 28, 1956 FigZ J. ffm/h Patented oei. 25, 193s 2,134,630

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAEMENT Jack French White, London, England, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Martin-White of America, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application October 28, 1936, Serial No. 108,059 In Great Britain September 29, 1936 6 Claims. (Cl. 2-67) This invention relates to garments for personal the ligure of a woman as does a bathing suit, Wear of the kind adapted to t closely to the it is merely necessary to take a rectangular piece figure or to give what may be described as a of such fabric without any close regard to the skin-tight fitting such as is desired at the present size of the person, fold vit in half, secure together time with bathing costumes, with which articles the two edges remote from the fold and secure of personal wear the invention is more particutogether the fabric for a suitable distance along larly concerned. one of the sides adjacent to that formed by secur- Hitherto, in using even such fabrics as possess ing together the two first-mentioned edges for a what is known as two-way stretch, including triconvenient distance intermediate in the width of 10 cot or knitted fabrics, and fabrics in which are the side so as to provide a portion which will l0 incorporated rubber. threads or filaments and be engaged between the legs of the wearer, the more particularly filaments of coagulated rubber. article so formed being thus in effect a rectangulatex provided with a helical wrapping of brous lar bag in one Side 0f Which there are apertures material such as cotton or artificial silk, the cutthrough which the legs will pass, the opposite side l5 ting of the material or otherwise the fashioning being open or provided with an aperture through 15 of the garment to conform with the figure has which the head and shoulders will extend. 1 been necessary particularly where in consequence While, when employing such a fabric, some of public taste the garment is intended to mould degree of shaping or fashioning can be resorted itself to the gure without suppressing its essento as, for instance, the cutting of the material to :zo tial characteristics with a view to enhancing the form a garment which even when not on the aesthetic appearance of the human shape. person exhibits a waist", Such fashionins or Not only has it been necessary to resort to shaping is in fact generally unnecessary and if fashioning but in view of the relatively limited adopted will not in any way be comparable with degree of stretch possessed by the fabrics which the fashioning or shaping which it is necessary have hitherto been employed for the purposes in to employ to ensure that the garment moulds 25 question, it has been necessary to produce such itself to the differences in level presented by the articles in a large number of sizes or ttings, figure and may be resorted to merely in consewhich fact necessitates dealers purchasing garquence of the difliculty which members of the ments in a relatively large number of sizes in public may have in believing that an article not the relative quantities which they estimate will so formed will fit the figure 6105815. 30 be required and taking the risk that at the end of The invention consists, broadly, in garments the season they will be left with an excess of garfor personal wear of the kindv adapted to t ments of certain sizes which they may find it closely to the figure andA in particular bathing difficult to dispose of without loss. y costumes and garments of the like character The invention is based upon the observation formed from a fabric the basic material of which 35 that by the employment of a fabric the basic possesses a restricted or even substantially no material of which possesses a restricted or even degree of elasticity but which by the provision at substantially no ,degree of elasticity but which by relatively widely spaced intervals of elastic the provision at relatively widely spaced intervals threads or filaments extending at least in two of elastic threads or filaments extending at least directions with, for instance, one set or group of 40 in two directions, with for instance one set or spaced elastic threads or laments arranged at group of spaced elastic threads or filaments arright angles with the threads or filaments of the ranged at right angles with the threads or fllaother group, and applied to the basic material ments of the other group, and applied to the basic under tension in such manner that when the material under tension in such manner that when tension on the elastic threads is released they the tension on the elastic threads is released they operate to draw up the basic material and impart operate to draw up the basic material and impart to it what may be described as a roughly honeyto it what may be described as a roughly honeycomb structure due to the basic material intercomb structure .due to the basic material intervening between the elastic threads or filaments ,0 vening between the elastic threads or filaments being caused to crinkle, pucker or bulge by tak- 50 being caused to crinkle, pucker or bulge, the neing a piece or pieces of such fabric cut substancessity for cutting the fabric or otherwise fashtially without regard to the conformation of the ioning the garment to conform with the human human figure, and without any close regard to, figure is unnecessary and with, for instance, a or consideration of, the dimensions of the figure garment adapted to cover the upper portion of or size", and securing together certain of the 55 The invention consists. more particularly. in a bathing costume or a garment of like character formed of such material which. when lying ilat enabling the garment to be drawn brand apertures in the opposite side through which the legs may pass, with a. closed portion between such apl ertures.

The invention in a bathing costume or a consists more particularly'also garment of like char' -acter formed from a single piece of fabric of the nected together through an appropriate distance 4.

at a position intermediate between the sides conv stituted by the fold and the joined edges for a distance sumcient to provide a portion which will be engaged between the legs of the wearer.

To the side of the garment opposite to that having a. joined portion which will be engaged between the legs of the wearer, shoulder straps or the like or means adapted to be engaged by shoul der straps or the like or equivalent means for preventing accidental or undesired displacement of the garment may be provided.

Thus. to the side in question there may be secured pieces of fabric of the like character to that employed in forming the body portion of the garment adapted to extend overthe shoulders anld optionally to sleeves.

Where a garment. 's'. accordance with the invention, is furnished with sleeves or portions extending over the shoulders and such portions are formed 0f a fabric of similar character to provide sleeves and normally short The basic material of the fabric employed, in accordance with the invention, may be of Widely varying character and may be of wool, cotton, silk or artiicial laments or mixtures of any of these and it may be a loom-woven, loom-knitted or knitted fabric, and it may be of such character silk, American cloth and the like.

Normally, but not necessarily, the elastic threads or laments are of the type comprising a core in the form of coagulated rubber latex provided with a helical wrapping of lamentary ma.- terial and the threads in question may be secured ner, or laments being arranged to eigtend parallel with the warp of the threads and the threads or laments of the other group being arranged parallel with the weft threads, andthe interval between the weft and the warp threads when the elastic threads are under tension may, for instance, be in the neighbourhood of 1 inch so that the nished fabric has,

vas above indicated, what may be described as a Figure iilustrates a piece of the fabric adapted to be formed into a bathing costume,

Figure 5 illustrates the bathing costume oi! the gure of a wearer,

Figure 6 is a view illustrating the bathing costume on the gure of awearer.

seen from Figure 1,\ a sheet of the the crossing side to 1/2" 8 and 9 being I I brought toout or reduced.

What I claim is:

l. A fabric comprising a sheet of substantially non-elastic basic material, a series of elastic threads independently attached to the surface or 1'6 2,184,630 -said basic material in substantially parallel-lines,

which is substantially non-elastic, a series oi"v spaced elastic threads extending in one direction with respect to the sheet of basic material, and a second series of spaced elastic threads extending in a direction at substantially right angles to the threads of the first series and crossing the threads of the first series with the threads of each such series secured while under tension at relatively widely spaced -intervals to the surface of said basic material and operating when the tensionlon. the threads is released to draw up substantially equally in all directions the portions of the basic material `located between them and thereby impart to the basic material a surface structure of/apuckered character.

4. A fabric comprising a sheet of substantially non-elastic basic material, a plurality of series of ing in different directions, each spaced elastic threads, the threads of any one series extending substantiallyparallel` to each other but the threads of different series extendmaterial will Vtions-and asurfacastructure rial to which the elastic threads are directly attached being greater in the direction in which the threads of a series extend than the normal length of the elastic threads in that series but not greater than the length of said last named elastic threads when extended to their elastic limit.

5. A fabric comprising aV sheet of substantially 1 non-elastic basic material, two groups of substantially parallel elastic threads, each thread of each group being independently attached to a surface of said basic material substantially throughout the length of the thread; the'threads of one group extending in a direction at a substantial angle with the threads of the other group and each elastic thread subtending` a ,line Vof the/sur.

face longer than the uritersioned length of the thread, whereby the basic material is drawn up to 4forni areas of puckered surface bounded by sections of said elastic threads and is capable of extension in all directions.

6. A garment for personal wear, the body of which is a strip of substantially non-elastic material, a series of spaced elastic continuous threads extending in one direction, and a second series of spaced elastic continuous threads extending in a direction substantially at right angles to the threads of said first series, each thread of both series being independently and non-slidably attached to a surface of said basic material, the

construction and arrangementbeingsuch thatY when the threads are not under tension the portions of the basic material located between them are drawn up substantially equally in all direcof puckered character is imparted to the basic material, having two non-adjacent edges of the strip secured to series being independgny,Y andsnonslidably/at-fgether and means for securing the middle portion tached to a surface of the basic.material, the linear measure of that portion of the basic mateof the edges f one end of the body.

' JACK FRENCH WHITE. 

